DAY FOUR--WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING FOR YOUNG READERS AT BYU

A couple of quick notes.

Quick fix for a manuscript. Go through and look for five senses. Ex: The rank smell of perspiration. The rough texture of his coat.

A flashback is like a bump in the road. It stops the forward movements so you really need a good reason to use it.

Don't be afraid to have your character have strong emotions.

Address the real issues.

A grammatical mistake everyone makes. "None are." "None" is a contraction meaning "not one." So, the proper way to say it, even though it sounds wrong is, "None is."

One of the best ways to develop your "voice" is just to free write. You will get some things that are raw. Some good book ideas come from free writes. Don't worry about the correctness of your work, just write.

The best way to become a writer is to write.

I should be in bed but I re-wrote today's piece. I didn't need to because I'm not going to read again but I did it anyway while my groups critique was fresh in my mind. I don't know if I've posted it here yet. It's when my sister--my poor sister, she is taking a beating in my work--called me a Pooka.

Brandon Sanderson said something pretty cool today--well he said a lot of cool things but he said he had an idea that wouldn't leave him alone and he called it an "itching in my brain." This is a book-Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians--that is being made into an animated movie! Pretty cool outcome for a brain itch.

Until tomorrow....